


Right Beside You

by avidbeader



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Galaxy Garrison, Garrison days, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pre-Kerberos Mission, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 16:22:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13574328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/avidbeader/pseuds/avidbeader
Summary: Shiro is back from his first off-planet mission and Keith can't wait to see him.





	Right Beside You

**Author's Note:**

> I participate in an Amino community for Sheith and the mods created a quote challenge where you created something with an original quote that you thought might fit with the slew of canon quotes we have for this ship. I went with the idea of them saying variations on "I'll be right beside you" and came up with this little story to go around it. At this point I decided that Keith has fallen hard for Shiro and is figuring it out but Shiro hasn't gotten there yet.
> 
> Thanks as always to [Latart0903](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latart0903/pseuds/Latart0903) for the beta work!

 

The second the tone rang to signal dismissal, Keith was on his feet, shoving his tablet and texts into his backpack. He dashed for the door, slipping between other cadets as he moved down the hall and toward an exit.

 

Once outside in the bright afternoon sunshine, he took off for the parking area and vaulted onto the red hoverbike. The ignition responded to his thumbprint and the engine roared to life. He leaned as it lifted, bringing it around in an impossibly tight circle, and steered toward the street.

 

Of course there were not one, but two hovercars with the unmistakable gray and orange of campus security along the way, making him stick to the speed limits.

 

But as he pulled into the lot behind the apartment block for officers, he gunned the engine. Before he could turn it off, a figure emerged from the entrance and Keith’s heart leaped. His grin grew wider as the other approached.

 

“Where’s your helmet, cadet?”

 

“In the hold where it belongs, lieutenant,” Keith replied, unable to resist the sass.

 

Shiro rolled his eyes. “You know, part of the deal for getting to keep my hoverbike while I was gone was operating it _safely_.” He waved a hand at Keith, motioning for him to dismount.

 

Keith grinned, killed the engine, and hopped off, pulling his backpack from his shoulders. Shiro opened the hold to pull out two helmets and Keith dropped his bag inside. They put the helmets on and climbed onto the bike, Keith behind Shiro with his arms firmly around him.

 

Shiro took the most direct route off campus, avoiding town. The moment they were clear, Shiro accelerated without warning and Keith yelled in delight, locking his hands around his wrists at Shiro’s waist. They flew across the desert, plumes of dust trailing in their wake.

 

After about twenty minutes of going flat-out, Shiro slowed slightly and veered toward some boulders. He turned his head and shouted, “Ready, tiger?”

 

Keith squeezed tighter and yelled back, “Ready, jock!”

 

Shiro opened the throttle again and they raced toward the boulders. About two hundred yards out, Shiro popped the antigrav and they soared into the air. His hands and feet moved in perfect sync to decelerate and drop, landing them on top of the flattest boulder. Keith was flung forward into Shiro as he braked, bringing the bike to a halt just three meters away from the edge.

 

Keith broke into a gasping laugh as he worked the helmet’s strap loose and pulled it off, hanging it on one handlebar.

 

Shiro pulled his own helmet off and shook out his hair. His bangs were in his eyes and his undercut lacked its usual definition.

 

“No barber yet?”

 

“Nah. Tomorrow. Before the press conference.”

 

Keith couldn’t stand it anymore and jumped at Shiro, reaching up to throw his arms around his neck. “It’s good to have you back!”

 

Shiro laughed and returned the hug, lifting him off the ground as if he weighed nothing. “Good to be back.” He set Keith down and ruffled his hair. “How much did you grow while I was gone?”

 

Keith shrugged, pleased to note that he was past Shiro’s shoulder now. “How was Mars? Tell me everything!”

 

“It was good. Amazing. If they can keep up the current pace of shipments and construction, we might have a stable colony up there in ten years.”

 

Keith swatted at him as they moved to sit on the edge of the boulder, feet dangling down. “That’s cool, but what was it _like_?”

 

Shiro stared off into the distance. “See this landscape? How it’s all rocky and kind of barren?”

 

Keith nodded.

 

“Now imagine that the ground is red and orange, and the sky is this brownish color. That’s during the day. And at night, if you walk out from the camps even a little, get rid of what is already a tiny amount of light pollution, the stars are incredible.”

 

Keith’s heart beat faster. He tried to tell himself he was imagining the surface of Mars, but it was the yearning look on Shiro’s face as he gazed into the sky. The sun was beginning to set and the first stars were emerging. Their gleam seemed to reflect in Shiro’s eyes, making them shine like diamonds.

 

Shiro turned to him and Keith inhaled, trying to collect himself.

 

“How about you? Everything go okay while I was gone?”

 

He shrugged. “Same old, I guess. They finally moved me up to advanced classes on the sims.”

 

“About damn time. You should be doing jet runs by now,” Shiro growled. “What made them finally get off their asses and do it?”

 

Keith looked down, suddenly unsure.

 

“I...I broke the last of your records on the intermediate level.” He kept his eyes down, not wanting to see Shiro’s face darken at that news.

 

“The last... the Mimas run? Going through Saturn’s rings?”

 

Keith nodded, not looking up.

 

“By how much?”

 

Keith swallowed. “Seventeen seconds.” He braced himself as Shiro shifted, undoubtedly pulling away from the tagalong brat who was wiping out his legacy.

 

And suddenly Shiro’s arms were around him and Shiro was laughing. Keith felt his weight tilt toward the edge and clung to Shiro, who tugged him back, tight against his own body. One large hand pulled Keith’s head into his shoulder and Keith felt Shiro’s cheek press down on his head.

 

“That is fantastic! I am so proud of you!”

 

Shiro continued to praise him and Keith tried to keep his heart from pounding through his ribs. Every time he thought he’d finally done something that would push Shiro away, he was surprised. No one had ever treated him with such generosity that he could remember.

 

Only Shiro.

 

Some quote danced across his memory, something he had heard watching a movie or television show back in one of the foster homes. Something about love meaning putting the other’s happiness over yours. If Shiro had acted hurt or angry over Keith beating his sim scores at any point, Keith would have pulled back his performances immediately. He knew, without a doubt, that it was more important to keep Shiro in his life than to rack up some numbers that would be meaningless as soon as the next wunderkind came along.

 

And the most thrilling thing of all was that Shiro showed no signs of jealousy whatsoever. He just kept pushing for Keith to do his best.

 

He was jolted back to awareness as Shiro started getting to his feet, pulling Keith up with him. Shiro gave him one more look, full of fondness and pride, and drew Keith in for another hug.

 

“You are going to be brilliant and it is going to be amazing watching you achieve your potential.”

 

Keith buried his face in Shiro’s chest, feeling his cheeks heat up. Shiro put one hand to his head, tilting his gaze up.

 

“Seriously, Keith. The day you take off for Mimas for real, I’m going to be the happiest guy in the solar system. And I just hope I’m in the copilot seat right beside you.”

 

Keith wasn’t sure how he was still alive right now--his throat felt too tight for breathing and his heart seemed to have stopped.

 

Then Shiro was backing up, leading him toward the hoverbike. “Come on, tiger. Get us off this rock and take us home. If we hurry we can get ice cream in town before curfew.”

 

Keith was able to get control of himself as he focused on buckling his helmet and starting the bike. He hesitated one moment, estimating the drop and how much time he’d need to allow to kick in the antigrav at the right time. Shiro slid his arms around him and leaned forward.

 

“You got it?”

 

Keith nodded. “I got this.”

 

_I got this._

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


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